Solar power is another up and coming alternative renewable power source. Scott Aldous from HowStuffWorks.com states that solar energy is created by photons, or light particles, creating energy on a semiconductor. The semiconductor releases an electron, which is turned into an electric current. The current can be either stored, or put onto a grid. If the electricity is stored, then it requires a battery, which would need to be replaced over time. Having a battery allows the user to have electricity during the night or on cloudy days. As opposed to using batteries, with the cooperation of an existing utility company, the electricity could be put back into the grid. In this method, the power is sold back to the company when excess energy is produced, or electricity is purchased when there is a lack of energy.
One major problem with solar energy is that photo-voltaic panels are expensive and bulky, but Dr. Alan Heeger of the University of California Santa Barbara has discovered a solution to that problem. Dr. Heeger has developed a cheap, light and flexible solar plastic. This solar plastic creates an extremely fast solar reaction, making it tremendously efficient and able to work on cloudy days. This technology can also be manufactured as ink. Consequently the ink can be applied to any surface, allowing solar plastic to be manufactured like a newspaper on a printing press. This means that solar plastic can be mass produced. Dr. Heeger and Konarka Technologies have teamed up to try to make his invention mainstream. Other than powering houses they plan on implementing the solar ink into common personal electronics, such as cell phones and digital cameras. The idea is that you could charge your devise by exposing it to any light at any angle. Currently, typical photo-voltaic panels produce electricity at about 2.40 dollars per watt, solar plastic is projected at one dollar per watt, and Dr. Heeger hopes to drive the cost down to ten cents per watt(Powering Up).
While Dr. Heeger's technology and other solar technologies may be useful in California, places like New York where the sun isn't as sunny may not strive as well. Bryon Walsh writes about how the residential market for solar energy needs to be mapped so people know if solar energy is worth the investment or not. Walsh states that engineering company CH2M Hill and the United States Department of Energy is working together to map the viability of solar energy in each state.
These technologies and advancements in solar energy are excellent for residential use, but in a more traditional solar plant engineers have reengineered the way solar energy could be used. In Seville Spain, Antonio Esteban is responsible for the futuristic-looking solar power plant. This plant works by using mirrors, which surround the solar tower, to focus light onto the top of the tower. The focused light generates enough heat to turn water into steam, which is either used to operate the turbine, or stored for night or a cloudy day. A plant like this creates no pollution and requires no resources to run. Unfortunately, it cannot produce steam at night and keeping the water in steam form is a problem. Esteban is working on using different materials and methods to reduce any downtime for the generators(Powering Up).
Roger Davey, CEO of Enviromission has another unique idea of how to harness the sun's energy. He has plans on producing the world's largest solar plant all based on mirrors and air. His idea is to create a large circular plot, about 190 feet in diameter, of solar panels that are designed to create heat, centered around a tower about 2000 feet high. The heat from the solar panels will rise into the tower, where the generator creates electricity. Davey plans to make this plant in the Australian outback, where the sun shines more than 300 days a year. Since Australia is almost all powered by coal, air pollution is a problem. A plant like this would be the equivalent of removing 90,000 cars of off the roads(The Search for Renewable Energy).
This thermal solar technology has begun to make its way to the United States, with at least 80 solar plants in the early stages of planning and development, but not without opposition. Environmentalists claim that the proposed plants and lengthy power lines will stain the beauty of the desert and maim fragile desert ecosystems, as well as create an energy monopoly(Dickerson). Regardless of protests, large-scale solar plants are a clean, infinite source of energy. With geography and cost being a significant drawback as this chart shows.
Figure 1 "United States." Map. Florida Solar Energy Center. 2007. 5 October 2009
Solar energy could thrive in arid climates once the technology gets established and easier to produce.
Works Cited
Aldous, Scott. "How Solar Cells Work." 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-cell.htm> 05 April 2009.
Dickerson, Marla. "Solar Thermal Projects Gather Steam—and Opposition." The LA Times 3 Dec. 2008. 5 April 2009. <http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/03/business/fi-bigsolar3>.
"The Search for Ultimate Energy." Building the Future. Planet Green. 2007.
Walsh, Bryan. "Mapping Renewable Energy, Rooftop by Rooftop" Time. Dec. 22. 2008 9 March 2009 <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1867998,00.html>.
Walton, Marsha. "Algae: The Ultimate in Renewable Energy" 1 April 2008 CNN Technology 23 March 2009. <http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html>.
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